HOUSTON: US chemical shipment values in November rose for the seventh time in the past eight months, nearing a two-year high, according to data released on Wednesday by the US Department of Commerce.
In 2015 through November, chemical shipment values increased in every month since March except for a slight dip in October. The value of US-made chemicals shipped increased 3% compared with the same month in 2014. The November value of $64.41bn fell just short of the previous high of $64.46bn in December 2013.
Shipment values for all US manufacturing industries in November dropped 4.0% for the 12th straight monthly decline, with a decline in every month this year plus in December of 2014. Shipment values for all US industries totaled $475.31bn, compared with $495.65bn in the same month of 2014.
The US Census Bureau separates chemical shipments into four sectors: pesticides and fertilizers; pharmaceuticals; petrochemicals; and chemicals used in paints, coatings and adhesives.
Petrochemicals, which represent the second largest sector in terms of value, declined by 8% from November 2014, reflecting the decline in oil prices that brought a drop in derivative values in 2015.
Chemicals ranked as the third largest non-durable goods industry in the US in November, behind transportation equipment at $80.62bn and food products at $66.03bn.
The value of petroleum and coal products, usually ahead or even with chemical values but much lower now because of plunging oil prices in late 2014 and throughout 2015, totaled $42.14bn in November.
Pesticides and fertilizer values increased by high double-digit percentages for the eighth straight month, reflecting a continued turnaround in the US agricultural sector after the end of a few years of drought.
Pharmaceutical and medicine values rose almost 22% in November marking the seventh straight month of increases, and paints coatings and adhesives rose for the eighth month in a row, up almost 9% year on year.
